ARE YOU READY? LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR MIND Lecture 1 The Need for Apologetics in a World of Confusion We live in what may be the most anti- intellectual period in the history of Western civilization. We must have passion indeed hearts on fire for the things of God. But that passion must resist with intensity the anti- intellectual spirit of the world. R.C. Sproul Faith and a disciplined mental life were not natural enemies then. A well- formed mind held a place of honor. And it was believed that the Christian mind could be the best mind. J.P. Moreland, Love Your God With All Your Mind, 15 1
1. The emergence of anti- intellectualism 2. Evangelical withdrawal began 1. Philosophical ideas from Europe 2. German higher criticism 3. Darwinian Evolution This withdrawal from the broader, intellectual culture and public discourse contributed to the isolation of the church, the marginalization of Christian ideas from the public arena, and the shallowness and trivialization of Christian living, thought, and activism. In short, the culture became saltless. (24) 1. A misunderstanding of faith s relationship to reason. 2. The separation of the secular and the sacred. 3. Weakened world missions. 4. Anti- intellectualism has spawned an irrelevant gospel. Kerby Anderson, of Probe Ministries, believes that the only hope for our nation is to turn around, for apart from revival and reformation, this nation is destined to decline. He goes on to outline ten stages that civilizations go through in their journey from bondage back to bondage: The first stage moves from bondage to spiritual faith. The second from spiritual faith to great courage. The third stage moves from great courage to liberty. The fourth stage moves from liberty to abundance. The fifth stage moves from abundance to selfishness. Anderson, Kerby. The Decline of a Nation. Probe Ministries, 1991, 1-2. The sixth stage moves from selfishness to complacency. The seventh stage moves from complacency to apathy. The eighth stage moves from apathy to moral decay. The ninth stage moves from moral decay to dependence. And the tenth and last stage moves from dependence to bondage. Anderson, Kerby. The Decline of a Nation. Probe Ministries, 1991, 1-2. 2
From my observation of our nation, I would have to conclude that we are in the eighth step moving very quickly to the next step of dependency (on the government). Bondage is not far behind. Kerby Anderson then points out that this is the fate of every nation unless revival and reformation reverses the cycle. The book of Judges outlines the cycle that the Israelites went through as they turned away from God, and they are the same stages that America has gone through. Our fate will be captivity and dispersion as well unless we redirect our energy back to a renewed relationship with God. Kerby Anderson also points out that the decline and fall of a nation usually comes from within. Even though some may have fallen to barbarians, their demise ultimately came because of moral and spiritual weakness which manifested itself as military weakness. (5) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind We need to have passion, power and reasoned purpose. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. We need to recognize and understand the presuppositions behind the worldviews. 3
Action: What we say or do Assumptions: What we think Presuppositions: How Should We Then Live?, p. 19. What they are in their thought world determines how they act. There is a flow to history and culture. This flow is rooted and has its wellspring in the thoughts of people. People are unique in the inner life of the mind what they are in their thought world determines how they act. This is true of their value systems and it is true of their creativity. It is true of their corporate actions, such as political decisions, and it is true of their personal lives. The results of their thought world flow through their fingers or from their tongues into the external world. This is true of Michelangelo s chisel, and it is true of a dictator s sword. (19) People have presuppositions, and they will live more consistently on the basis of these presuppositions than even they themselves may realize. By presuppositions we mean the basic way an individual looks at life, his basic world view, the grid through which he sees the world. Presuppositions rest upon that which a person considers to be the truth of what exists. People s presuppositions lay a grid for all they bring forth into the external world. Their presuppositions also provide the basis for their values and therefore the basis for their decisions. (19) Our actions come from our beliefs Our beliefs shape our values Our values cause us to exhibit specific attitudes and behaviors BELIEFS ACTIONS VALUES 4
Bad ideas have bad consequences! How Should We Then Live?, p. 19 How Now Should We Live?, p. xi As a man thinks, so is he, is really most profound. An individual is not just the product of the forces around him. He has a mind, an inner world. Then, having thought, a person can bring forth actions into the external world and thus influence it. People are apt to look at the outer theater of action, forgetting the actor who lives in the mind and who therefore is the true actor in the external world. The inner thought world determines the outward action. Philosophy Art Music General Culture Theology Francis Schaeffer, How Should We then Live, 19. Why are cultural trends shifting? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Does life have any meaning and purpose? 70% of youth stop attending church when they graduate from High School. Nearly a decade later, about half return to church. How Now Shall We Live, xi. 5
225 % more likely to be angry with life 216% more likely to be resentful 210 % more likely to lack purpose in life 200 % more likely to be disappointed in life 36% more likely to lie to a friend 48% more likely to cheat on an exam 200% more likely to steal 200% more likely to physically hurt someone 300% more likely to use illegal drugs 600% more likely to attempt suicide The Churched Youth Study (Dallas: Josh McDowell Ministry, 1994), 69. The Churched Youth Study (Dallas: Josh McDowell Ministry, 1994), 65. 1. Distorted beliefs about God 2. Distorted beliefs about Truth 3. Distorted beliefs about Reality 80% believe that God created the universe 84% believe that God is personally involved in people s lives YET 63% believe that Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and all other people pray to the same god, even though they use different names for their god Barna Research Group, Third Millennium Teens (Ventura, CA: The Barna Research Group, Ltd., 1999), 48. 87% believe Jesus was a real person who came to earth, and 78% believe that he was born to a virgin YET Nearly half (46%) believe he committed sins, and over 51% say he died but did not rise from the dead Barna Research Group, Third Millennium Teens (Ventura, CA: The Barna Research Group, Ltd., 1999), 48. 48% believe that it does not matter what religious faith you associate with because they all believe the same principles and truth 58% believe that all religious faiths teach equally valid truth 65% believe that there is no way to tell which religion is true Barna Research Group, Third Millennium Teens (Ventura, CA: The Barna Research Group, Ltd., 1999), 51. 6
" 70% say there is no moral truth " 81% claim that all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstance 72% believe that you can tell if something is morally/ethically right for you by whether or not it works in your life If it works, it s right for you Thus, contradictory positions can be maintained Barna Research Group, Third Millennium Teens (Ventura, CA: The Barna Research Group, Ltd., 1999), 43. Barna Research Group, Third Millennium Teens (Ventura, CA: The Barna Research Group, Ltd., 1999), 44. Truth does not exist in any objective sense Truth whether in science, education, or religion is created by a specific culture or community and is true only in and for that culture Individual persons are the product of their cultures (African-American, Western, urban, rural, etc) All thinking is a social construct, i.e., all truth is arbitrary: The winners determine what goes in the history books Any system that claims to have a corner on the truth is false Jim Leffel, Our New Challenge: postmodernism, in the Death of Truth, ed. Dennis McCallum (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1996), 35. Proverbs 14:12; 16:25 Reasons for apologetics To unbelievers: to lead up to faith To believers: to build up faith and aid love To engage in spiritual warfare the warfare is against unbelief, not unbelievers, just as insulin is against diabetes, not diabetics. The goal of apologetics is not victory but truth. (22) The best way to conquer your enemy is to make him your friend. (Abraham Lincoln) 7
Mormon Second Coming Freudianism Behaviorism Abortion Materialism Progressivism New Age Atheism Euthanasia Communism Nihilism Neo-Orthodoxy Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 8
Basic presupposi,ons Filter by which we determine everything (ac,ons, values, etc) the tape that is playing in your head (Weltanschauung) Idea concerning people, culture and the world How you perceive and interact with your world The tool box by which they interpret the world James Sire 1 2 3 4 What is prime reality the really real? What is the nature of external reality? What is a human being? What happens to a person at death? 5 Why is it possible to know anything at all? 6 How do we know what is right and wrong? 7 What is the meaning of history? 4 key components of Worldview What is the foundation of these components of Worldview? 9
Myths of Origin, Power & Destiny Genesis / Evolution Myths of Origin, Power & Destiny Genesis / Evolution Theism Humanism Ideas Epistemology What is Truth? Why is it possible to know anything at all? What is the meaning of history? Beliefs Metaphysics What is reality? Ontology: What is a human being? What happens to a person at death? Values Axiology What is good? Ethics: How should we behave? How do we know right and wrong? Action: What we say or do Assumptions: What we think Axiology Ethics Metaphysics Ontology Epistemology A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. A theist believes that: the triune personal God of the Bible existed; he had revealed himself to us and could be known; the universe was his creation; human beings were his special creation 10
Is this not a presupposition? Question: How do we know that it is true? How do we even know there is a God? By reason? By revelation? By faith? By contemplation? By proxy? By direct access? How do we know That our Worldview Is TRUE!? This is why you need Apologetics! (from Apologia, which means defending the faith ) 1. Be sure you have submitted your life to Jesus as Lord 2. Expect that God will work through you 3. Put on your spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) 11